[l008com]

Anyone know where I might be able to rent one of these:
http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Post_Puller/MP-3/index.html

I'm just north of Boston. According to that web page, that puller isn't available ANYWHERE in this region. But I have two posts cemented in my driveway, and I really want to pull them straight up without making the driveway holes any bigger. Something like this would be ideal. I tried using all sorts of levers but I easily snap 2x6's. These posts are lots of cement on them, I need something very solid like this. I also dried car jacks but because of the cement base, I can't get the jacks close enough to the post to pull up, it just pushes it over and/or lifts up the back of the jack instead.

I also tried a tool rental place in North Woburn, he had nothing at all.

 

[kwikfishron]

What type of post and driveway? If the post were set in concrete and then the driveway was poured around them you won't be able to pull them without damaging the driveway if the driveway is asphalt. If it's concrete it's not going to happen with a post puller.

 

[Bud9051]

Installed through a concrete driveway with an unknown amount of attached below that driveway I'm not sure a direct pull will do the job.

Just thinking out loud, but you can get long masonry bits and perhaps make swiss cheese of the concrete adjacent to those posts. You would also get an idea as to how deep the concrete goes.

Since a post would not be all that secure just passing through the driveway I suspect there is a blob of concrete down there and it isn't going to want to be pulled up.

Would you be ok with a much larger hole and a patch?

Bud

 

[rjniles]

Cut them off flush with the driveway.

 

[Oso954]

That $1,000 post puller isn't magic. It doesn't do anything you can't do with a $60 Farm Jack and a length of 3/8 chain with a hook.

But I think I would cut the post off and grind it smooth. If hollow, fill the void with hydraulic cement.

 

[BigJim]

If there is no concrete around the bottom of the post, you can use a car tire on the rim, chain close to the bottom of the post, lay the chain over the tire and hook to your truck, it will pull the post straight up. If there is concrete in the post hole, which I think there is, that post isn't coming out without modifying the concrete around it.

Oh by the way, don't try jerking the post out, you won't like what most probably would happen.

 

[sbrn33]

Have you gotten this post out yet?

 

[de-nagorg]

If I wanted to do this, I would get a 3-4 foot length of small( 6inchish) I beam,

then a few solid concrete blocks, put the blocks beside the post far enough away that it will maybe pull out, then lay the I beam across the blocks near the post, wrap chain around and around the post, and use a handyman (farm, hi-lift) jack to pull it out, if it will pull.

If not it will get cut off, and dealt with then by whatever means to remove it.

Drill if wood, or just fill in the hole if pipe.


ED

 

[paintdrying]

buy an engine puller off craigslist

 

[l008com]

Hey guys. So the driveway is asphalt. The posts are in those cement cylinders so they're about 2 feet deep but very smooth. And they can all wiggle a little, so it should be possible to pull them straight up with the right tool.

The first one I was able to remove just by using levers, but it was particularly loose in it's hole. The rest of the posts need something that will pull straight up. I don't have any of these various chains and jacks you guys mention. I have an automotive floor jack that pulls away as it goes up, and I have a house jack that gets about 8 inches of height, and that's it. I've tried to rig something up with both of these but had no luck.

The spare tire and chain option, I don't think that would work because the cement on the bottom of the post is about 2 feet thick, so it would start pulling sideways as soon as you started moving.

Also it's a cylinder of concrete about 8-10" or so in diameter, so I have no way to cut that flush with the driveway.

I found a picture of the posts. The green circled one was already removed, it's just the too red ones left. They concrete is in those cardboard tubes thats mostly rotted away, so there is wiggle room and they'r every clean. The concrete on the driveway around them is not loose and is firmly attached to the driveway. If I can get a way to pull them straight up, leaving a cleanish hole that I can just fill with my crushed stone and stone dust, that would be the ideal situation. That's what I did with the first one and it came out great. When it comes time to repave the whole driveway, it will look good. But for now that will be an acceptable solution. FYI these are a handicapped ramp for a previous resident that was built way too permanently.

So I drilled holes through each post and I have a MTB axle which is actually perfect. It's 6+" wide and is super strong steel so it has yet to bend. But if I try to jack it up, it just bends the posts over. I tried prying with wood but you need tons of leverage to lift things this heavy and the wood just snaps at the fulcrum. That home depot post puller seems like the perfect device (besides using a bobcat). From what I've seen on youtube, that thing should be able to pull these posts right out pretty easily.

 

[Fix'n it]

barrow an engine hoist.

 

[de-nagorg]

When I was a kid, I worked for a landscaping outfit that had a Winch truck, with gin poles in the rear, they used it often as a stump puller.

Find someone in your community with a winch truck setup, and pay them a few $ to remove these.

A lot less $ than renting that puller from HD.



ED

 

[l008com]

There are lots of tool rental places around here and apparently NONE of them have any post pulling tools. So I guess ill try rigging up a more elaborate lever system. And if that doesn't work, I'll call a tow truck and have them yank them out real fast.

 

[kwikfishron]

Looking at your pictures now, I wouldn't even try to pull those. If doing minimal damage to the driveway is important then just rent a demo hammer and bust them things down until you're a few inches below the top and then patch the asphalt.

I can rent a demo hammer here for about fifty bucks a day. It would probably only take a hour to get rid of those three.

 

[de-nagorg]

Remember to tie as close to vertical as possible with the winch.

That way the post and material will come out with the least damage to the surrounding area.

ED

 

[lenaitch]

I'd bust them up with a demo hammer or call a tow truck. Does the bottom of the one you got out look like it broke off? If so, the columns may have been poured with footings and the first one broke. That's a lot of weight to lift straight up. You're dealing with a lot of friction and possibly suction if it is wet down there.

 

[l008com]

So I built myself a new lever system using two parallel 2x6"s. Then, rather than lift those with my noodle arms, I set up a floor jack underneath. It was a slow process but I was able to get it half way out this way. Then It started pulling up the asphalt with it so I pulled it out the rest of the way with my bare hands, which was not easy at all. About the heaviest thing I'm capable of lifting, but I didn't mess up my back or anything so it all worked out.

So that's two down, one more to go. After that, all the rest are set in dirt and will not be a problem to remove with a shovel. Progress is slow and very very painful, but it's a'comin.

 

[r0ckstarr]

I've pulled posts with a floor jack similar to how you did. Have you considered using a tire and a truck?

Skip ahead to 48 seconds.

 

[l008com]

The spare tire method won't work for me because these are set in driveway. So they need to be pulled straight up. Using the spare tire, it pulls up but then over sideways. These post bases are about 25" long, so the truck method would totally destroy the driveway.

The method I used worked ok. I'm going to try to find another floor jack, and move the bolt to the middle of my 2x6's, so the jacks will work together and pull the last post straight up, that should make it even faster/easier.

Most of the 'easy' ways to do it with a jack wouldn't work for me because these posts aren't actually set in the cement. They sit on top of the cement and are attached with a metal bracket. So when I tried to stick a piece of wood on the post and jack that up directly, it just bent the post over and didn't move the cement base at all.

 

[de-nagorg]

Harbor Freight has jacks like that for about $50.00.

Am glad that you are making progress.

ED